Skyfall Review

Soon after fifty years and 23 films, this is Bond as you might have never seen him before. Weak, scarred – both physically and also emotionally – and suddenly outside of place in a world that is seemingly moving on without him or her, the Commander James Bond of Skyfall is deeper, darker plus more human than in past films.

With American Beauty director Sam Mendes for the helm, we're given a glimpse into the histories, the frailties and the failings of both Bond (played for the third time by Daniel Craig) and also the ever-stoic M (Judi Dench in her seventh outing from the role) – with an intelligence and commitment to origin of which echoes Christopher Nolan's Dark Dark night Trilogy.

Skyfall opens with Bond and also fellow agent Eve (Naomie Harris) over a slick chase across Istanbul in search of a stolen harddrive – which provides the details of agents embedded in terrorist organisations throughout the world – in cars, on motorcycles and on trains, culminating in the classic hand-to-hand confrontation between Bond and his quarry. With this stakes high, M orders Eve to take an unclean shot for the target – and Bond is hit in the process, plummeting off the rail bridge and into the water, where it is thought he dies.

We see M struggling over Bond's obituary – just as she is hauled in by new intelligence chief Gareth Mallory (a good turn by Ralph Fiennes), that's concerned that M is not up to the task of heading up MI6. To produce matters worse, it turns out the harddrive's new owner is a master cybervillain with a personalized vendetta against M, luring her outside of MI6 and blowing the headquarters up just in time for her to witness this carnage.

Meanwhile, Bond – who's been sipping Heineken, downing difficult liquor, bedding beautiful women and generally doing your best with death – sees the MI6 attack for the news, and hotfoots it back to M – who greets him with the wonderfully crisp: "Where the hell are you currently? "

Bond is thrown back in the thick of things, though it is painfully clear to everybody but M he is nowhere near ready. He gallops off to Shanghai wherever he tracks down his burglar, and ultimately his thief's boss (through the charms of Severine, seemingly a kid slave turned sex-slave to our Boss Villain). And what a villain it's. Javier Bardem plays Silva – an outstanding cybercriminal hellbent on hurting Michael.

Throughout Skyfall, one constant concept runs through. Bond and M are part of the "old days" of espionage, they're told, and in a world filled with hacking, cybercrime and YouTube, both Bond and M they're out-dated, out-of-touch and increasingly outdated. Bond's advancing age, his years from the game, are oft-reflected upon too – and in fact essentially the most fun on-screen partnerships is concerning Bond and his very brand-new, very young Quartermaster (played by Ben Whishaw) – who Bond reckons "still has spots". And consistent with the new, Mallory is hell-bent on making changes, and hauling M into an extremely public enquiry to defend her running of MI6 in front of a panel who make it quite clear that they think she is slightly old lady. A new head office, a new Q, a new chief of intelligence and security – as well as, new technology – it's the battle on the old ways versus the new that comprise much of the film's seek.

But at the heart with this film is the immensely intriguing and complex relationship between Bond and M. Dench and Craig complete a formidable pair on screen, providing a few of the film's most stunning moments. Part boss, part mother-figure, Dench is luminescent in your ex central role – being provided with and delivering among the better material in the film. Craig – following your particularly disappointing Quantum of Peace – has bounced back which has a visceral Bond performance, revelling in a emotionally more complex hero, fighting his alcoholism and a sudden realisation of his mortality.

Bardem's Silva is probably the more memorable Bond villains – daylights, movie villains in recent times. His homoerotic overtures to Bond, his complete fixation on M's downfall and his repeated, unsettling personal references to her as "Mommy", and also his utterly deranged mannerisms (oh, all right, and his terrible peroxided hair) show that Silva is easily the nearly all fascinating character on screen. Obviously, nobody can accuse Bardem of being subtle in this role – and also comparisons to Heath Ledger's turn as The Joker in the dark Knight are inevitable – but he steals the screen and it is a deliciously obvious counterpoint to help M and Bond's stiff-upper-lip-ness.

Mendes moved to great lengths to build a sleek, new and distinctly modern-feeling Bond – creating astoundingly slick pictures and rich, textured locales through No Country for Old Males director of photography Roger Deakins – making Skyfall without a doubt one of the best-looking films on the year. From the neon skyline of Shanghai towards the incredible deserted city inhabited by Silva, and the art gallery in which Q and Bond meet towards the new underground headquarters of MI6, this set-choices are breath-taking, each locale memorable and with its own distinct personality. In conjunction with an exquisite, dramatic score by American Beauty alumnus Thomas Newman and also immensely slick action choreography, Skyfall stays fast-paced and enthralling throughout their 143 minutes.

Yet despite their visual opulence, Skfyall is an extremely stripped-down Bond. The traditional "Bond girls" seldom get a look-in – there is absolutely no time for much sex, it will seem – and the famously excessive Bond gadgets are missing too. But despite this – and also the distinct turn towards a more contemporary feel – Mendes has made sure to honour Bond's rich heritage. Case in point: one of Bond and Q's first swaps, in which Bond is furnished with a gun (awesomely customised to his palm-print) as well as a radio, with Q quipping: "What were you expecting, an exploding dog pen? " Other nostalgia-laden moments that elicited cheers through the preview audience were the unveiling of Bond's Aston Martin (hidden in storage) and also the strains of the original theme – and coupled with the snippy one-liners and this Martinis, it is clear that Mendes has become careful to honour the Bond traditions while providing the franchise which has a shot of adrenaline to the heart.

Skyfall has been hailed by some (and I often agree) as "The Best Bond Ever" – and while which may be down to personal taste – the one thing is clear: It's one on the must-see films of the 12 months.